High-profile entertainment reporter Peter Ford has stopped short of apologizing for a tweet that branded Lidia Thorpe a “skank”, saying he deleted the tweet to avoid offending others.
Ford made the insult to the independent senator after her foul-mouthed outburst towards King Charles and Queen Camilla during a reception at Parliament House on Monday.
Senator Thorpe waited until King Charles had finished his speech before accusing him of genocide and demanding a treaty be made with indigenous Australians.
Ford went to X on Monday to call her a “slut” and a “shocker,” but he was more contrite on Tuesday.
“So yesterday, in a comment about Lidia Thorpe, I used a word in this space that some people (who I trust are not ‘outraged’ people on Twitter) thought was unfair,” he wrote.
“Even though it’s a word you hear about Kath and Kim, I removed it. I wanted to make a point and not cause offense. Cheers. P.F.’
Ford declined to comment further on the matter when contacted by Daily Mail Australia.
The entertainment reporter, who works for Channel Seven, had described Ms Thorpe as a ‘skank’ in two separate comments on X.
High-profile entertainment reporter Peter Ford has remained tight-lipped after being forced to delete a tweet that branded Lidia Thorpe a ‘skank’
When another social media user accused him of being a misogynist, the entertainment reporter doubled down.
“You may not like the term – and think it’s unfair – but it’s not misogynistic,” he replied.
When Ms Thorpe interrupted the reception at Parliament House, Ford called her a “shocker”.
‘So everyone must respect the Welcome To Country ceremonies. But Lidia – who signed the oath to the Crown – does not have to respect the reigning monarch if she chooses to be in his presence,” he wrote.
‘What a shocker she is!’
Ford also took aim at the possum cloak worn by Ms Thorpe during the outburst, providing a pointed answer to someone’s question about what she was wearing.
“Pests ironically,” Ford wrote in response.
Dressed in the fur skin, Ms Thorpe, 51, shouted that the monarch had ‘committed genocide against our people’, adding ‘f*** the colony’ on Monday.
“Give us what you stole from us. Our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people. You have destroyed our country. Give us a treaty. We want a treaty,” she continued.
Ford had insulted the independent senator after her foul-mouthed outburst in Parliament House on Monday.
As the guards led Thorpe away, she became more animated and continued to shout, “This is not your country. This is not your country. You are not my king. You are not my king.”
Buckingham Palace declined to comment on Thorpe’s outburst at Parliament House, but sources waved the lone protester away, saying Their Majesties were “deeply moved” by the warmth of the welcome they had received all day.
The King and Queen, who were still on stage during the confrontation, appeared to pay no attention as the King turned to speak to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Camilla turned to his fiancée Jodie Haydon.
They were seen laughing at the politician’s bickering and were said to be ‘tireless’ about the tirade which they hoped would not overshadow an otherwise ‘beautiful day’.